Mattresses and other articles of bedding traditionally have been provided with handles attached along a side panel or border thereof. Such handles previously have been made from cords or rope materials, the ends of which are extended through grommets attached to the border material and stapled or otherwise secured within the mattress. In addition, mattress handles also have been made from strips of fabric that are folded and their ends sewn to the borders between upper and lower edges thereof. In the past, handle attachment procedures generally have been somewhat labor intensive, requiring an operator to secure grommets into the borders and thereafter insert and secure the ends of the handles through such grommets, and/or by requiring the operator to physically fold and sew the handles in desired positions along the borders. More recently, automated systems have been developed for automatically feeding a handle material from a roll, and thereafter cutting and sewing the handles onto a length of border material, substantially reducing the amount of labor required for attachment of the handles to their mattress borders.
In addition to changes in the way mattresses and other articles of bedding are made, consumer tastes or preferences regarding mattresses likewise have changed, leading to an increased consumer demand for more aesthetic and functional features on mattresses and other bedding articles. For example, higher end, more expensive mattresses having pillow tops, individual pocketed coil springs and aesthetic patterned designs sewn or applied along the borders and mattress tops have become much more desirable to consumers. The increased demand for customized patterns and/or aesthetic features has also extended to more functional features such as the handles for such mattresses. For example, some manufacturers are using custom embroidered handles that are designed to match the pattern of the border to which they are attached, and which consequently typically require individual placement of the handles on the borders at locations whereby the pattern of the handle aligns or matches with the pattern of the border. This also can include the use of vertical handles that are attached in a widthwise direction along the borders. Automated handle attachment systems are not, however, generally designed to accommodate varying attachments of handles to their borders, such as mounting the handles in different orientations other than a conventional horizontal arrangement, or otherwise positioned along the mattress border so as to permit formation of additional aesthetic or customized features along the border as well.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a system for attachment of handles to lengths of border materials for mattresses or other articles of bedding that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.